Like Two Strangers
by Fedora The Explora
Summary: Téa goes through a horrible tragedy that threatens to tear apart the basis of who she truly is. Lives are lost, friendships are tested, and love is found in a place she never thought was possible. And all it ever seems to get is worse. SetoxTea. No longer on hiatus!
1. How Soon Is Now?

Like Two Strangers

_"I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does."_

-The Smiths, 'How Soon Is Now?'

**Author's Note**: This story is already completely planned out. Each chapter is based off of one line from one song that I absolutely love. The chapter title will be the song name and I will quote the sentence at the beginning of each chapter, just like above.

* * *

Téa's day could not have started off to be more normal. She woke up, showered, got dressed, grabbed a bagel, and ran out to meet Yugi so they could walk to school together. And once they got to school, they were greeted by Joey and Tristan, the friends Téa hated to love. Their teacher came in to babble about some historical subject while Seto Kaiba (the class millionaire and genius) ignored everything to work on his laptop. It was just like any other given day; at least, it was until the school's social worker poked her head into the door. The teacher glanced over at the sound of the door squeaking open and approached his colleague. They conversed briefly and rather intensely, before the history teacher awkwardly turned around towards the students.

"Uh...Miss Gardner?" Téa perked up. "You're needed in the hall."

The girl rose to her feet, scanning her brain. Had she missed any assignments? Was the school going to ask her to tutor Joey again? Because she would tell them right then and there, this was not happening again. Not when her tutoring got put off for hours and hours while Joey got caught up on Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty; which was miraculous, because it's not like anything else held his attention (or lack thereof).

When she reached the hallway, the social worker spoke hesitantly, but smoothly. Téa only caught a few words: parents, accident, dead. And an apology. She always found it strange when people apologized for other peoples' deaths when they had nothing to do with it, but that was a whole different issue-

Her parents? Dead? She'd literally just seen them heading out to open up the little café they owned right before she left to meet Yugi. Her mom was flustered because one of the chefs had to be fired, and they were having a difficult time finding an acceptable replacement. This meant they were working all the time. Téa understood why, and she didn't mind; her mother was the one upset about the lack of family time.

But now they'd never spend time together as a family ever again. She snapped out of her rambling thoughts and blinked at the woman standing in front of her, who was glancing at somebody in the doorway. Téa turned, and there stood Seto Kaiba. His face was set in the firm, determined glare as usual, so she assumed he hadn't heard anything. That was a relief-it would have been so wrong if he'd known before she had a chance to vent to her friends.

"Cobalt wanted your things brought out here," he said, though Téa noticed his voice was slightly less clipped and a bit softer than normal. This caused her stomach to twist and unravel about twenty times in a second. She swallowed as he set her stuff at her feet and returned to the classroom without so much as another glance.

Téa turned back to the teacher. "Are they completely sure they're my parents?" she whispered. "I mean, I know them better than anyone..."

"The police had a waitress from your parents' restaurant identify the bodies...I believe her name was Kara?"

Tears filled Téa's eyes. Kara was her cousin who worked mornings so she could afford school. They were pretty tight, and of course there was no way another close-knit family member would make a wrong call of identity. All the girl could do was nod.

"You are free to leave for the day, Miss Gardner."

"Uh...thanks," she whispered, gathering her stuff and rushing out to catch a city bus home. Everything seemed blurry around her, and not just because of the tears. When she finally managed to find her way home, a barrier broke, and she immediately dropped all her stuff in the doorway and ran up to her room, crying hysterically and tossing everything around.

"_How dare you go and leave me here all alone_?" she screamed while glaring up at her ceiling. "_What kind of people are stupid enough to let themselves get hit by another stupid driver? How could you not think of what would happen to me_?" Consumed by rage, she reached over and smashed the pink ballet-themed lamp her parents gave her as a birthday present back when she was six. The action was immediately regretted, and she sank into shock at the callousness of herself, backing up and slipping to the white plush carpeting with her back against her dresser. Everything was suddenly silent.

"Téa...?" A young, sad voice barely spoke her name from the hallway. Téa's head snapped towards the door.

"Mokuba?" she said, utterly confused. "What are you...how did you get in here?"

The boy walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "My brother heard what happened to your parents, so he called me and asked that I come and see you. You left your front door open, and I heard you yelling, so I let myself in..."

So he did know. Téa drew in a deep breath, trying to control herself, and asked the one question anybody in her group of friends would have asked.

"What does he want?"

Mokuba blinked and pulled away, not entirely understanding the question. "He just told me to invite you over if I wanted some company. He's working late, but I have a private tutor so I'm home alone all day anyhow."

So many questions. Téa went with the one that seemed easiest first.

"Your brother goes to school like everybody else but you get the private tutor? Why?"

Mokuba grinned. "Because Seto wanted to go to normal school and I just wanted a tutor."

Téa raised an eyebrow. She would've guessed it the other way around; Mokuba was a sweet, happy, innocent child whose big brother clearly would have preferred to be in isolation with minimal human interaction. She didn't understand this particular choice, but decided to let it go at that moment.

"Why did he send you out to find me?" she asked. This was the real question.

Mokuba looked at her sadly, but answered very bluntly.

"Because we've already gone through what you're going through now. It hurts too much to have to deal with it alone." Téa opened her mouth to protest the 'alone' statement, but Mokuba continued. "I know you have the greatest friends anyone could ask for, but they don't really know what you're feeling, Téa. They can pretend but you'll just feel empty." He swallowed and hugged her again. "I know Seto can be a little rude sometimes but he's not a bad person. Just come back home with me. Please?"

Téa returned the hug, eyes misting over again. "All right, Mokuba. Let's go."

He grinned and leapt to his feet, offering her a hand. She accepted and was surprised by how strong the small child was already. She started to head out the door, but Mokuba stopped her.

"Bring some clothes," he said. "Seto said you can stay for awhile."

She turned to him, wide-eyed. "Oh, Mokuba, I couldn't."

"Trust me, you're going to want to," he refuted softly. Téa decided to take his word for it; after all, he did say they'd already gone through this hell. For her, it had barely begun and she was already feeling more lost than she ever believed was possible. Mokuba helped her gather some clothes, and she felt a faint slight of amusement when he couldn't keep his face neutral as he opened a drawer of her underwear-the racy kind. After the initial shock, he simply looked down, grabbed a handful, and threw it in her pink and white striped bag, then moved on. Her lips quirked as she rounded up some makeup and her hairbrush.

"Ready?" Mokuba piped up, and she nodded. The one thing she was happy about was the fact she'd just turned eighteen and didn't need to worry about any social services issues. He took her hand and guided her out to a limo, and Téa smiled. She'd never ridden in a vehicle this fancy before. Mokuba grinned back and pushed her inside and hopped in after she'd moved over.

"See, we're cheering you up already."

We. That one little world still shocked Téa. It wasn't just Mokuba trying to help, it was his big brother, too. The big, scary chief executive officer of the biggest corporation in town who had possibly the coldest heart and hottest temper of anybody. Okay, Téa already knew that wasn't entirely true, but it still came to reason.

When they reached the mansion, the girl couldn't help but to gasp.

"Mokuba, this is beautiful," she breathed. There were gorgeous rosebushes lining the exterior, the lawn was pure perfection, and there was a huge marble fountain in the shape of a pair of mythical dragons that spewed water from their mouths instead of fire. Not a Blue Eyes, Téa noted sarcastically, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. Mokuba smiled up at her again and brought her into the actual house, which was no less impressive. He led her up the stairs to a bedroom.

"This is our guest room," he announced grandly, grabbing her bags from her and dropping them on the huge lavender bed, then heading back into the hallway as Téa watched curiously. He walked to a door directly across from her. "This is Seto's bedroom. He works pretty late, so if you hear something going on out here after midnight, it's just him. And that's my room." He pointed to the door next to Téa's and told her that's where she should go if she needed anything. She smiled and thanked him.

"Are you tired?" Mokuba asked suddenly, making Téa hesitate. She was tired, and also quite impressed that he'd picked up on it. She'd been trying to hide it.

"A little, but I'll be okay," she admitted. "It's been a long day."

Mokuba shook his head and pointed to the bed. "Take a nap. I'll come and get you when it's time for dinner!"

She smiled. "Thanks, Mokuba." He gave her another quick hug then bounded down to his room. Téa left her door open a crack and wandered to the gigantic bed and picked up her bags. She rummaged through until she found her pink sweats and a white camisole and slipped them on, then climbed onto the bed and turned on her phone. She'd forgotten to even look at it since she'd shut it off before school. There were a couple texts from Tristan and Yugi, asking her why she'd left. She felt her heart pang as she realized that Kaiba knew before her closest friends. She replied them both with a simple 'I'll explain tomorrow.' There was also a voicemail from Joey.

"Hey! Téa! I don't know what you told those teachers to let you out early, but if you're ditching me as a tutor again, I'm gonna take it personally! Uh...anyhow, hope you're all good and talk to you tomorrow!" There was some muffled cursing of the phone before the message ended. Téa smiled faintly at Joey's antics. Only him. She finally crawled under the blankets and slowly drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Hey...Téa!" a voice whispered excitedly. She slowly opened her eyes and discovered Mokuba, who was sitting on her bed next to her. "The cook just finished dinner. Here!" He pulled a bed table out and placed it in front of her.

"That's sweet, Mokuba, but I'm not really hungry," she smiled sadly, still half asleep.

"At least drink some apple juice," Mokuba urged. "They just made it and it's really good!"

To make the kid happy, she forced herself to sit up and lifted the large glass her her lips and drank. He was right, it was really good. It was good enough to whet her appetite enough so that she ate some of her meal, even though Mokuba helped with most of it.

He picked up the tray. "I'll let you go back to sleep."

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning. She already felt like she'd slept forever, but couldn't understand why she was still so tired.

"Almost nine," he replied, smiling. "Seto makes me go to bed at nine-thirty, but remember that if you need anything at all you can talk to me."

"Thanks, Mokuba. Good night."

"'Night, Téa!" he called as he walked down the hallway, making sure he'd left the door open a crack since she seemed to like that way. He brought the dishes back to the kitchen where the cook was just finishing loading the dishwasher.

"I can wash these by hand! Go ahead and go home!" he assured the cook, who bowed and bid Mokuba good night. He finished washing the dishes, then wandered off to watch a little television before Seto called to make sure he was going to bed.

He started flipping absently through the channels until the door opened. He glanced at the clock -holy crap! It was almost one in the morning.

"Mokuba, why aren't you in bed?" Seto Kaiba inquired tiredly as he shrugged off his coat and draped it over his arm.

"Uh...I fell asleep. You just woke me up," Mokuba improvised, to which Kaiba rolled his eyes and playfully grabbed the child and wrestled the remote from his hand, then began to carry him up the stairs.

"Where's Téa?" he asked.

"Sleeping," Mokuba whispered with a yawn, pointing to the half-open door leading to a dark room as they passed it. Kaiba stayed quiet until the two brothers reached Mokuba's bedroom.

"Did you give her any towels?" he asked finally.

"No," Mokuba said apologetically, slipping into his red pajamas. "I forgot, I can do that now-"

"No, I can get them. You get to bed," Kaiba said firmly as Mokuba tried to dart out of his room. The kid hung his head and climbed into his bed. Kaiba shook his head and sat next to his little brother to tuck him in.

"I'll be working from home tomorrow, since it's Saturday, so maybe we can just order some delivery and watch that weird movie you've been bugging me about," he told Mokuba as he pulled the blankets up to his chin.

"Not weird," Mokuba argued sleepily. Kaiba laughed to himself and hugged his brother goodnight, then went to the closet to grab Téa a stack of towels. He chose the purple ones and walked back down the hall, quietly slipping into the room to place them on the dresser. Then he heard sniffling.

Kaiba drew in a silent deep breath, then flipped on the light. Téa sat straight up, tears glistening on her pale face as she stared at him. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door, knowing what he wanted to say, but wasn't comfortable actually saying it.

He knew what it was like to lose family and to have one's whole life uprooted and crash. Watching Téa like this reminded him of himself back when he was a child and his mother and father died. The sadness welled back up in his own heart and compelled him to approach her, while she watched on with a look of wary confusion. He immediately stopped in his tracks and folded his arms.

"I brought you some towels," he finally said, motioning to the purple pile on the dresser.

"Thanks," she said quietly, avoiding his eyes.

There was silence again before Kaiba simply turned around to leave, but Téa drew in a quick breath, knowing she should say something.

"Kaiba, wait," she called after him. He paused in front of his own door, listening. "Thanks."

He looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a half-nod. Téa curled back up, vaguely wondering why his presence and knowing he was nearby made her feel a little better. And with that, she sank back into the bed and fell asleep.


	2. This Modern Love

Like Two Strangers

"_You told me you wanted to eat up my sadness; well, jump on, enjoy, you can gorge away_."

-Bloc Party, 'This Modern Love'

Mokuba and Téa sat at the table at around eleven the next morning. Téa was swirling ice cream around in a bowl while Mokuba started sadly out of the window. He sighed despondently, and she looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong, Mokuba?"

The kid looked at his friend. "My brother promised he'd spend the day with me today...and now he's not even here."

Téa frowned. She'd heard Kaiba moving around him room all night, but never heard him leave. "Are you sure he's not still in bed?"

Mokuba stared at Téa as though she'd gone insane. "Seto almost never sleeps past eight in the morning."

"Did you check?"

"Well...no, but I know my brother."

Téa smiled and stood up, holding out her hand. "Come on. I didn't hear him leave and I've been up most of the night, so if he did, I would have." Mokuba grabbed her hand hesitantly and allowed her to lead him up the stairs to his brother's room. He quietly pulled the handle and opened the door warily, but relaxed when he saw his brother stretched out on his back in bed, sleeping soundly despite the fact that his face was tilted right into the sunlight. Téa smiled down at Mokuba, until her phone started ringing across the hall. She scurried back to her room while Mokuba hurried to silently shut his brother's door.

"Hello?" she answered breathlessly.

"Téa? It's Kara."

"Oh...hey."

"Hi...I'm sorry about what happened...I just wanted to tell you that my parents are taking care of everything for you as far as funeral arrangements and stuff."

"Funeral arrangements," she echoed blankly after a moment of silence. Mokuba whirled around and rushed to her side.

"Yeah. It's all taken care of, but the funeral is tomorrow. So take care of yourself."

"Thanks, Kara. See you then," Téa whispered, suppressing tears and hanging up. She swallowed and looked at Mokuba. "The funeral's tomorrow...I better go talk to Yugi and the guys."

"Promise you'll come back for the movie?" Mokuba pleaded. She tilted her head and gave him a confused look.

"What movie?"

"Seto and I were going to watch a movie in the theater area later. I'm inviting you now," Mokuba said with a grin. Téa shook her head with a smile.

"All right. See you later, Mokuba," she replied, and called for a cab to take her to the game shop.

* * *

"Téa!" Yugi exclaimed when the bells chimed, signaling someone had entered. Joey and Tristan emerged from beneath the counter, chocolate cake on plates in their hands. Téa smiled shakily.

"I-I have something to tell you guys..." she stuttered. "I don't know how to even say this right, so I'm just going to be blunt about it. I left school yesterday because my parents were killed in a car accident."

All three of the guys ran forward to hug her; Joey and Tristan even set their food down. After they all broke apart, Téa wiped tears from her eyes. "The funeral is tomorrow at two...I know it's short notice so I completely understand if you can't make it-"

"Are you kidding? Of course we're going to be there for you!" Tristan interrupted her, and got a weird look from Joey while Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Tristan's right. We're here for you, Téa."

She hesitated and looked down. "Thanks. And don't worry, you guys aren't the only ones there for me."

Yugi cocked his head. "Who else?"

"Kaiba sent Mokuba over to get me yesterday...they've been helping me too. I don't know if they're coming to the funeral tomorrow, but Mokuba asked me to stay there for awhile. So that's where I'll be for a couple days, I guess..."

Joey nearly fell backwards, but Yugi seemed to understand. "Well, I guess they've already gone through this." Joey looked as though he was going to burst, but Yugi turned around to reason with him while Tristan stepped forward and grabbed on to Téa's shoulder.

"Hey...Téa, can I talk to you for a minute? Outside?" Tristan blurted, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Sure, Tristan..." Téa said, slightly confused, but followed him just outside the game shop. "What's up?"

"I love you, Téa," he said immediately, and then his eyes widened at how quickly it'd come out. Téa blanched and took a step back. What the hell was this?

"You...what?"

Tristan regained his composure. "I said I love you. I've felt this way for awhile, but it never seemed like a good time to tell you...we've been friends for a long time, I just hoped you might feel the same way..."

Téa hated hurting people, but she hated lying and faking even more. Tristan was a great friend, but he was just that-a friend. She used to have a thing for the Pharaoh before he'd left, but that was as far as anyone in the group had ever gotten.

"Tristan...I don't love you, not like that. I love you as one of my best friends," she began shakily. "I love you as a brother. But nothing more than that."

Tristan's face was blank. "Oh...okay. Uh...can we forget I said anything?"

"Sure," Téa replied, her voice wobbling. She needed to get out of there now. "Listen, I promised Mokuba I'd watch a movie with him, so I should leave. See you guys tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely," Tristan mumbled, forcing a smile. He returned into the game shop as Téa flagged down a cab to head back to the Kaiba mansion. She knew in her heart that wasn't the end of that...

* * *

As Téa pushed open the heavy doors, she instantly heard Mokuba pleading in the lounge.

"Come on, Seto, I'm sick of Chinese. Let's order pizza."

"Mokuba, you literally just ordered pizza two days ago. There's even still some leftovers in the fridge, and you always refuse to eat leftover pizza because you say it's 'floppy and gross.'"

"You're floppy and gross," the child retorted sullenly, which caused Téa to laugh. The brothers' heads turned to her simultaneously. Kaiba rolled his eyes, but Mokuba charged over and threw his arms around her waist. "Téa, settle this, what do you want?"

"I'm really not hungry, so I can't help you here, Mokuba."

Now Mokuba rolled his eyes and stepped back. "Yeah, that's what you said last night. And then you ate."

"With your help," she teased, but then began to head towards the stairs. "Anyhow, I need to go find something to wear for tomorrow."

Kaiba rose to his feet as Téa rushed to her room, then shoved a bunch of menus at Mokuba, suddenly not caring what they ate. "What's tomorrow?"

"The funeral..." Mokuba replied quietly, pulling out a menu for a new Italian restaurant. His brother looked up the staircase.

"I suppose she expects us to go," Kaiba muttered, more to himself than anything, but Mokuba glanced up at his brother, a worried expression taking over his face.

"I don't think she expects anything, Seto...but would you even be okay with going?" He knew his big brother didn't do funerals; after their parents died, Kaiba had developed a bit of an anxiety problem with them which was discovered at their adoptive father's funeral. He had suddenly felt sick and bolted, which had frightened Mokuba to no end as he also disappeared for over a week after that.

Kaiba didn't respond. He simply stood up and walked up to Téa's room, where he found her laying out a simple black dress with a black jacket. She glanced over.

"We'll be leaving at one tomorrow." Téa watched as Kaiba turned around to saunter out.

"You're coming?" she called after him. Kaiba turned around and stared at her for a moment. He felt almost obligated to be there. When his parents died, everyone was cold and distant; choosing to ignore the two small children grieving over their loss instead of comforting them and caring. He'd never felt more alone in his life, and never fully recovered from that very day. Everybody who knew Kaiba at least a little was more than fully aware that he wasn't the comforting type (or even the friendly type), but none of those people knew how much he truly felt. He finally took a deep breath to speak.

"It only seems appropriate." His voice was flat.

"Thanks," she managed to reply softly.

"Seto! Téa! The pizza's here!" Mokuba's disembodied voice rang clear up the stairs and into the room as though he'd transformed himself into an invisible PA system. Kaiba walked to the staircase with Téa several paces behind him.

"Can we bring it up to the theater to watch Wizard Wars?" Mokuba asked excitedly. His big brother nodded, and the kid shot up the stairs happily, three large boxes in his small hands. Téa watched, impressed at the child's energy. She faintly remembered feeling the same way a couple days ago. The pain returned in her heart and tears returned to her eyes. She hung her head and let Kaiba pass ahead of her, hoping to hide the sadness by the time they reached the theater.

Kaiba noticed the sudden tension and turned around. "You don't have to come. I didn't exactly invite you." Téa's tears instantly vanished and she grew angry.

"Mokuba did this morning," she insisted vehemently. Kaiba grunted and muttered something that sounded like 'of course he did.' Téa followed the elder brother up another flight of stairs to a spacious home theater. Instead of chairs, there were a few oversized leather sofas placed around the room. She walked over and sat next to Mokuba, who was already shoveling pizza into his mouth. Kaiba sat beside her, much to Téa's shock. He pulled out a remote and started scanning through titles until he found the one Mokuba was dying to see.

As the movie progressed, Mokuba kept offering Téa pizza, but she continued to decline politely. Kaiba glanced over and took a slice from his brother, who made a sarcastic remark about people who prefer Chinese food over pizza. Téa couldn't help smiling at Mokuba's cheap shots at his brother. They were almost like normal siblings inside their comfort zone. She drew her body into a tight ball in the middle of couch and closed her eyes, attempting to focus on the positivity in the situation, instead of the gnawing negative feelings threatening to destroy the night. After what might have been minutes to an hour or so later, she felt someone leaning against her back.

Téa blinked and lifted her head, not believing she'd fallen asleep. Mokuba was still watching the movie, but he was in front of her, so he couldn't be the warm body on her back. She slowly turned her head, and startled at the sight of Seto Kaiba lying against her, asleep. His left arm draped loosely straight over her left shoulder and his head resting on that arm, and his relaxed face was a mere few inches away from hers and she could hear his slow, even breathing almost as clearly as Mokuba's movie; this wouldn't have been an issue had his sleepy breaths not been coupled with the periodic yet intense grinding of his teeth. It made her shudder.

Mokuba perked up at her movement. "It's about time one of you woke up. The movie's almost over."

"Sorry, Mokuba," Téa apologized whole-heartedly. Mokuba smiled and switched positions so that he was leaning against her as well, pushing the pizza box to the floor.

"It's okay. Seto always falls asleep when we watch movies. At least I get spend time with him...sort of."

Kaiba grunted in his sleep and ground his teeth, shifting his position a bit. Téa winced at the sound, then looked at Mokuba.

"Does he always make that noise?" Mokuba shrugged.

"Yeah, most of the time. I asked the doctor about it, and he said it's probably 'cause Seto's so stressed all the time. He called it bruxism."

They watched the rest of the movie in silence. When it was over, Téa stretched out, attempting to wake Kaiba so she could move, but it didn't work. So she tried again to no avail; Mokuba smiled and uncurled himself from his little burrow between Téa and the couch cushions. He walked over and pushed his big brother off of Téa. Kaiba lurched forward, startled awake.

"Time for bed, Seto!" Mokuba announced. Kaiba groaned and stretched, then stood up, completely unaware that he'd been lying on Téa for the past couple hours.

"Same for you, kid," he yawned. He pulled Mokuba over into a hug then shoved him towards the door, telling him to sleep well. Téa leaned over quietly to pick up the pizza boxes and straighten the cushions. Kaiba turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Leave that alone and go to bed."

Téa was taken aback by his command. "I'm just trying to help."

"I'm not asking you to help," he responded, crossing his arms. Téa gave him a dark look and stood back.

"I appreciate you trying to help me...or whatever you're trying to do...but what would be really helpful is if you could show a little compassion." She stared at him for a moment before taking the boxes and trying to leave the room; Kaiba grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "What the hell, Kaiba?"

"I told you to leave those," he snapped, and let go of her wrist to grab the boxes, then walked away from her, leaving Téa gaping behind him.

How could he be so rude? Téa thought as she walked to her room. She pulled on a pair of black and lime-green checked pajama pants, a black tank top, and a black hoodie, then slid into bed.

_After Mokuba made that big show about saying that they both knew what I was going through...apparently the kid is the only one who actually remembers_.

There was a muffled thud on the door that really didn't qualify as a knock before it opened. Kaiba entered with a large mug in his hands. He placed it on the end table.

"Chamomile. Apparently it can help people who get a little..._moody_," he said, stepping back and looking at her. Téa returned the gaze in a dark manner, but knew that despite his rude tendencies, Kaiba was trustworthy. It was something Yami had pounded in her head over the years, and it always turned out in the end. She picked up the mug and stared into the tea's depths.

"Thank you."

Kaiba turned around and looked out the window. "I have some work that I need to finish, so I'm going to be up for awhile. If you feel you absolutely need to talk, then you can come with me."

Téa didn't want to talk, least of all to him. But she also didn't want to be alone, so she picked up her mug and followed Kaiba to his bedroom. Once she'd crossed the threshold, it was easy to see just how huge it was. On one side, there was his ridiculously large bed on a platform, a dresser, and an oversized chair; on the other side there was a desk, an antique-looking love seat, and a bookcase. Kaiba sat at his desk and powered up his computer while Téa curled up on the love seat. He glanced over at her, wondering why she would choose to sleep in an extremely uncomfortable love seat when she had the option of sleeping in an exceedingly comfortable bed. Then again, he knew all too well how the emptiness of abandonment could force one into seeking comfort wherever possible.

"If you just want to sleep, use my bed," he told her defeatedly, scanning some stats from the day. She looked at him for a moment, then crossed to the other side of his room and gingerly sank into the plush blue bed. Maybe it was the sudden comfort, or maybe it was the tea, but she was instantly drowsy and fell fast asleep in minutes.


	3. Bell, Book, and Candle

Like Two Strangers

"_You're everything that I've become; every word I say._"

-Eddi Reader, 'Bell, Book, and Candle'

Téa awoke what felt like seconds later, but the clock insisted that it was already just before noon. She lifted her head and looked over at the desk, noticing that Kaiba was gone. She frowned until the door opened and he walked in, freshly showered and dressed in a simple black suit. Mokuba followed behind him in similar attire. Téa sat up and rubbed her blue eyes.

"Did you even sleep?" she asked.

Kaiba smirked. "I don't think anyone could sleep with your snoring."

Before Téa could make an indignant statement about how she did not snore, Mokuba rolled his eyes and went to sit next to her on the bed.

"He came to my room and slept with me for a few hours after he finished working. And it's okay, he snores too," Mokuba informed Téa, obviously trying to cheer her up by siding with her and picking on his big brother. She forced a smile as Kaiba shot a dark look at his little brother, then slipped out of the bed to go get ready for the funeral.

She took a very short shower and slipped into the black dress and jacket she'd laid out the previous night. As she looked at herself in the mirror, dressed in uncharacteristically dark clothing, the truth of what was happening set in. She was going to bury her parents in to the cold, hard ground, where they would lie for the rest of eternity, never seeing the light of day again, never experiencing the joy and pains of life. They would never know what Téa would become; actually, at this point, Téa didn't even know what she would become...

She smoothed a crease out of her dress and let out a shakily breath, suppressing the tears that stung her blank blue eyes as she sat onto her bed. A gentle knock rapped on her door, and she called for whoever it was to come in.

Mokuba opened the door and launched himself onto her lap, then wrapped his arms around her neck. "We're here for you, Téa. But Seto sent me up to tell you it's time to go."

Téa swallowed and held the child for a moment before slipping him onto the floor so she could stand up. Mokuba grabbed her hand and led her down the staircase to the front door, where Kaiba stood. He looked over at his little brother and Téa and opened the front door, allowing them to pass through before him before he stepped out and closed it behind him. Mokuba swung the door of the limo open and gently pushed Téa inside first, then crawled in beside her, still holding her hand. Kaiba slipped in across from the two of them, shut the door, and stared out the window until they reached the church.

Mokuba jumped out first, then waved in solemn greeting over at Yugi and Joey, who stood near the church entrance. Téa followed behind him, and her two other friends ran over as Kaiba stepped out gingerly, slamming the door behind him. Yugi hugged Téa while Joey threw a glare at the CEO, who ignored the tension and leaned against the luxurious vehicle.

"C'mon, Téa, let's get you in where you belong," Joey said, letting his glare linger for another moment before breaking it away and putting his arm around his friend to lead her into the church. Yugi and Mokuba started to follow, but when the little Kaiba realized his brother wasn't, he turned around and looked up at him.

"Seto? Are you coming?" Kaiba shook his head and knelt in front of his little brother.

"No...I can't, Mokuba." His voice was tight, and Mokuba knew he was struggling with the past again. He leaned over and hugged his big brother as he continued to speak. "I'll just wait in the limo until it's time to head to the cemetery." Kaiba returned the hug and added a quick kiss on the top of the head, then gently pushed Mokuba toward the church. The kid ran off to catch up with Téa.

The inside of the church was beautiful. Different variations of flowers flourished everywhere. There were two dark mahogany caskets up front, and the bodies inside were surrounded by eggshell colored velvet lining. Téa was consistently approached by fellow mourners offering their condolences, so Mokuba hung back against the solid brick wall. Yugi approached him with a sad smile.

"Hey, Mokuba, where's your brother?" he asked. Mokuba hesitated before answering.

"He's waiting in the car...funerals are too difficult for him to deal with."

Yugi frowned, not quite understanding, but Mokuba's tone was very serious, so it must be important for him not to be here. Both boys looked over at Téa, who had finally managed to slip away from the throngs of people showing her pity and was approaching them. She glanced around for Kaiba, but he was nowhere in sight.

_Figures,_ she thought. _Though I don't understand why I miss him being here...especially since I should have figured he wouldn't really come. _She leaned on the wall beside Mokuba and looked at her friends.

"Yugi, where's Tristan?" she asked suddenly. Yugi swallowed. He'd been told by Joey what had happened between the two, and that Tristan intended to keep his distance for awhile to let Téa go.

"He...got called into work," Yugi said uncomfortably. She stared at him for a moment before shifting her gaze up to the front. Of course she knew what he'd said wasn't true, but she also knew that Yugi was trying to help.

"Let's just go sit down," Téa said quietly. Mokuba, completely ignorant of the romantic drama within the group, followed Téa loyally to the front and plopped down beside her, and Yugi sat on her other side. Joey rushed over a few minutes later, hands covered in powdered sugar, and sat on Mokuba's other side. She couldn't help but smile faintly at the normality of Joey Wheeler. He would be the one to find the food at a funeral...

The rest of the ceremony was a blur until the final song began to play, a beautiful, rolling melody sung by a distant cousin accompanied by an acoustic guitar.

"_Just before the thunder roars_

_I sense you next to me_

_And as I move through nature, I know where you will be_

_So I must keep myself apart_

_Here's where I'll stay_

_With a bell, a book, and candle to keep your ghost away..._"*

The song was truly beautiful, but it made Téa sick to her stomach as she started to cry silently. She knew it would take a hell of a lot more than a bell, book, or candle to keep her parents' ghosts from haunting her. They had been around her entire life, and now for a senseless, ridiculous reason, they were gone, and her only true support was a child who she had no business leaning on, especially since his older brother was so cold and distance. Sure, there were times where he'd melt the ice a bit, but it always froze again rather quickly. It was very confusing.

People began to stand and head out back to the graveyard. She brushed her tears away and followed them, feeling oddly numb. The empty emotion only got stronger as she stood in front of the future graves; the burial was somehow completely separated in her mind from the memory of the loving couple who'd raised her since before birth. Suddenly, she felt a new presence, and to her pleasant shock, Seto Kaiba was standing almost directly behind her. Their eyes met for a moment before she turned her gaze over to the pallbearers carrying her mother and father in their caskets. Her chest tightened and she gasped at the sight -it was too real again. She staggered backwards, only to be caught by Kaiba. He kept his hands firmly on her waist for almost a full minute before breaking the physical contact, and she shivered as he did so. At the same time, she felt strangely steady once again.

A few more words were said, and when it was finally time, Téa silently stepped forward to place a single daffodil on each of her parents' closed coffins. Daffodils were always their favorite; her mother grew a bunch on the window sill every year.

_I will miss you both so much. I promise to make you proud_...

She returned to where she'd been standing, and turned around as the caskets were being lowered into the ground.

"Come on," Kaiba suddenly ordered. Mokuba looked back at his brother quizzically. "She needs to get out of here."

Téa, Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba all followed Kaiba back to the church entrance. Téa was extremely shocked and overly relieved that he'd recognized what she needed at that moment. She hugged Joey and Yugi goodbye, and turned around to join Kaiba and Mokuba in returning to the limo.

"Wait...Téa." She turned around to meet Joey's eyes. He approached her. "Tristan wanted me to give you this." He slipped a folded sheet of paper into her palm and nodded her off. She put it in her pocket for the time being and went back to the limo, averting her eyes away from both of the Kaiba brothers. When they reached the mansion again, Téa jumped out immediately and rushed up to the room she stayed in, ignoring the stares of Kaiba and Mokuba. She pulled out the paper and read it.

_Téa,_

_I know it was a dick move to ditch the funeral like this, but I'm really ashamed of how I told you what I did the other day. But that doesn't change how I feel, and since you don't feel the same way, I need to get over it. So I'm just going to have to stay away for awhile and hopefully we can just be friends again soon._

_You're strong and I know you'll get through all this. I'm sorry for your loss._

_Tristan_

Anger flared up deep inside Téa. She was suffering the greatest loss in her life, and one of her best friends was ditching her for his own selfish reasons?! What an asshole! She slammed the note onto the dresser and crumpled up onto the bed in body-wracking sobs, shudders included. What she didn't notice was Seto Kaiba watching her silently from the doorway. He whisked over to the note, discreetly read it without her noticing, then paused for a moment before walking over to the bed and pulling her tightly into his arms. She was shocked at first, but easily allowed his touch to comfort her, along with his spicy cedar musk scent. She'd never met anyone who smelled so good before.

"It's okay, Téa," a small voice said from behind her. She pulled out of Kaiba's arms to look at Mokuba, who had just entered. He crawled up and sat next to her. "It'll never be okay that they're gone or be the same without them, but it does get easier to understand." He hugged Téa gently while Kaiba let a rare and faint smile grace his face, proud of his little brother's strong wisdom at such a young age.

Téa forced herself to smile at Mokuba and return the hug. She could only hope that he was right, and that everything was going to be okay.


	4. Snow White Queen

Like Two Strangers

"_I'm losing my mind, and you just stand there and stare as my world divides._"

-Evanescence, 'Snow White Queen'

Unfortunately, the next four days weren't okay. She withdrew further and further as she fell deeper into a depression that worsened each day as the reality of what happened sank in even more, which concerned not only Mokuba, but also her friends. Even Kaiba had noticed some unusual changes. She had stopped attending public school and enrolled in an online program, which was even more alarming. She was usually so social, but the lack of sleep she was cursed with definitely could have attributed to her finding people annoying in general. Finally, on the fifth day, a very determined Mai Valentine barged her way into the Kaiba mansion (with permission from Mokuba) and into Téa's room. What she saw was something out of a bad drama movie.

Téa was curled up in bed, dressed in all sweats and surrounded by books and her laptop. Her hair was freshly washed, but otherwise unkempt and stringy. Her face was mostly hidden underneath the hood of her sweatshirt. There was a half-empty mug of coffee sitting on the nightstand next to a plate holding an uneaten blueberry muffin that Kaiba had personally brought her hours ago before he'd left for work that morning. She looked up listlessly; however, a slight spark did light her eyes for a moment at the unexpected guest.

"Hey...Mai!" she smiled, but the blonde woman shook her head in disbelief.

"Woman, what are you doing?" Mai demanded, glancing around the rest of the room. Téa sighed.

"Mostly just homework." She sat upright. "So what brings you here?"

Mai smiled mischievously. "We are going to a club," she informed Téa, then gave her a once over. "But first, you need to get out of those godforsaken clothes and into the shower."

Téa's heart sank. Normally she would have loved to dance and be around so many people, but these days, not so much. "Oh, I don't think so...I have way too much to do."

The blonde sauntered over to the bed, boldly shut the computer, and yanked Téa out, causing the younger girl to cry out in protest and Mokuba to appear in the doorway.

"What's going on?" he asked, confused. "Are you okay, Téa?"

"She's fine," Mai informed him. "She's about to get in the shower, and we are going out tonight." Mokuba smiled.

"It's a good idea, Téa, it'd be good for you. Seto and I have barely seen you in days, and we live here!"

Téa groaned and begrudgingly agreed. Mai shoved a short, sparkly black strapless dress at Téa, along with a pair of black platform pumps. Téa snatched them from her and hopped into the shower.

Mokuba turned to Mai. "Thanks for doing this. She's been out of it for days."

"Loss is difficult," Mai replied simply, to which Mokuba scowled.

"I'm aware of that."

Mai apologized, but noticed that he sounded way too much like the elder brother when he chose to do so. As the blonde woman sat on Téa's bed, Mokuba felt guilty. "I'm sorry for being rude, it's just that this was how Seto was for awhile after our parents died...and then some other stuff happened, and look how he turned out."

Mai smiled wryly. "Well, I won't let anything else happen to Téa. Especially not that." Mokuba forced a smile back, letting the implication of Mai's opinion on his brother go just this one time. He headed to his room to work on his own homework. Téa returned after a few minutes, dressed in the clothing Mai had given her.

"Now we just need to do your hair and makeup," Mai informed Téa, pushing her down into a chair. She picked up a comb and teased her hair in random places before gathering it into a ponytail, then flipped the brown locks and scrunched them into a messy bun, and finished the style by inserting bobby pins at random and spraying it with hairspray. Téa watched in the mirror, and she had to admit that dressing up and getting her hair and makeup done was improving her mood.

Mai pulled out a black eyeliner pencil and carefully lined Téa's upper lids in a sort of pin-up style, then applied eyeshadow and mascara. She finished Téa's look with a slick of deep red lipstick and topped it off with clear gloss to give it a shine.

"Now you are hot," Mai told Téa, admiring her handiwork. Téa smiled and turned to her friend, then grabbed her purse.

"Shall we go?" Mai nodded and took Téa's hand to lead her down the stairs. Before they could exit the front door, Mokuba called out from the lounge.

"Wow, Téa, you look great!" he told her, grinning. Téa thanked Mokuba with an even wider smile. Mai glanced over Mokuba to where Kaiba sat, and noticed that his eyebrows were raised appreciatively. His blue eyes met hers, and she smirked at his attraction, but didn't say anything. Mai figured Kaiba as the type who would need to take his time with this sort of thing.

"We better go," she told Téa, who nodded.

"Bye, guys!" Téa called over her shoulder as she followed Mai out to her convertible. Mai brought her to a very classy-looking club, and found a spot right up front. Once they got inside, the loud music and enthusiastic patrons started healing Téa's soul almost immediately. She watched as Mai approached the bar and flirted her way into two free drinks, then returned and handed one to Téa.

"Uh...Mai, I'm not-"

"What they don't know won't hurt them. You need to relax and loosen up," she said breezily. "This is called a Long Island Iced Tea. Trust me -you will definitely loosen up." Téa grinned and took a sip, then coughed.

"This is strong!" she gasped. Mai laughed.

"Newbie."

Téa finished the drink, then downed the rest of Mai's, much to the older woman's surprise. A few minutes later the brunette began to feel lightheaded and elated, then ran out to the dance floor and began to show off her best moves. A tall man with a mop of dark hair approached her. Mai leaned against the bar and watched with amusement, then turned around and ordered a chocolate martini.

"Hey," the guy greeted Téa.

"Hi," Téa responded, giving him a smile and moving closer. He put his hands on her waist.

"So I take this you'll accept my invitation to dance?" he asked, and Téa nodded and began to grind on him. They danced like that for awhile before the man moved his hands to hers. "I got something to show you." He pulled her up a couple flights of stairs and up a ladder to the roof.

"Wow...it's amazing up here," Téa said, looking up at the stars, feeling quite off-balance. She'd never been drunk before, but it wasn't bad. However, she had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

"Right?" the guy said. He walked over to her and smoothed his hands over down her back before grasping her butt. "What's your name, beautiful?"

She tensed up a bit before answering. "I'm Téa. Yours?"

He chuckled, but didn't answer. Instead, he began to unzip her dress and pull it down her form.

"No," she said firmly, attempting to push him away. "Get off me."

He laughed as he gripped her tighter and pushed the dress down to her calves, along with her lacy black panties. "Now these are hot," he groaned as he pushed her onto the ground. Téa tried to scream, but he pushed himself on top of her and slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Don't you dare, bitch," he growled. "You got me going in the club, don't be a little tease and change your mind now. You know you want it." She could smell smoke and booze on him, and was barely able to struggle at this point. Still, she tried, but when he forced himself inside her, she found she was completely paralyzed with fear and disgust. His heavy, labored breathing in her ear made her sick to her stomach, and as soon as it began, it stopped. At least, she thought it did. It could have been seconds just as easily as it could have been minutes, or hours. He jumped off of her and smirked down. "Nice body." He rushed back down the ladder, leaving Téa half-naked, shivering, and alone in the cold night air.

She pulled her underwear and dress back up, realizing that there was a large tear in the dress. She stood up shakily, then ran to a plant and vomited into its pot as the shock of what just happened set in. Téa stalked over to the ladder and fell down; luckily, it was a short distance.

"Téa? What the hell were you doing up there?" a voice demanded. Mai rushed over to her, but when she saw Téa's eyes, she gasped. "What happened?"

"I gotta get out of here," Téa insisted, and Mai guided her back to the convertible.

"Téa, what's wrong? What happened to the dress?" asked Mai as she jammed the keys into the ignition and pulled into the street. There was no answered, and she drove in silence until they reached the Kaiba mansion. "Was it that guy?" The fact that Téa burst into tears confirmed the question.

"I don't want to talk about it," Téa told her, then jumped out of the car and dodged into the mansion, leaving Mai to watch in utter confusion. She glanced at the clock, it was just after one in the morning. Probably not the time to pursue a hysterical girl into the house of a very temperamental businessman, so she made a mental note to return later and pulled back onto the street to head home. She did, however, shoot a text off to Yugi. If anything did happen, he would know, and chances were that Kaiba might be a little more okay with Yugi charging into his home as opposed to herself, a very-near stranger with whom he'd had minimal interaction.

Mokuba was just exiting the bathroom when he saw a disheveled Téa dashing into her room. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, then followed her to her room, peeking around the door. She was staring at herself in the mirror, tears streaking black down her cheeks. He noticed lots of bruises forming around her arms and legs, and her torn dress.

"Téa? Are you okay?" he asked cautiously. She gasped and whipped around, eyes wide with fear.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just tired. Go back to bed," she said irritably, and Mokuba stepped back as she proceeded to shut the door on him. He had a very bad feeling, so he crept into his big brother's room.

Kaiba was asleep at his desk, one arm curled under his head as a pillow and the other arm draped limply across the desk. Papers littered both the surface and the floor, and Mokuba avoided treading on them as he walked over to his sleeping brother and gently patted his back in an attempt to wake him.

"Seto..." he said softly. Kaiba stirred and opened his eyes, then blinked several times before focusing on Mokuba. "Something is wrong with Téa."

Kaiba yawned and stood up to gather the papers that had fallen on the floor. "I've known that for years. Anyone with as many friendship speeches pent up as that girl has could probably benefit from some very intense therapy, or at the very least, a reality check." Mokuba scowled at his brother.

"Seto, she's covered in bruises and her dress was all ripped up," he insisted. Kaiba stared Mokuba with a sudden piercing gaze, then set the papers on the desk and walked past him to get to the room across the hall. He knocked twice then opened the door without waiting for an answer.

Téa was sitting cross-legged on the bed, trembling, still wearing the now-tattered dress. Kaiba approached her and sat down quietly, noting the bruises Mokuba had informed him about. He knew right away that she'd been raped, and that touching her was probably not the best course of action. Which was fine with him.

"You should go to the hospital," he informed her. She looked up at him, dark surprise glinting in her tearful eyes.

"Why would you say that?"

Kaiba hesitated before responding. "Because they have a procedure for this that can help the police capture whoever did this to you." His voice was flat, but almost angry.

She shuddered and sniffed, wiping her eyes. "And how would you know what happened to me?"

The elder Kaiba brother paused again. "Unlike most people you choose to surround yourself with, I'm not an idiot."

"Will...will you come with me?" Téa requested quietly, keeping her eyes fixed on the bed as she fully expected him to decline. Kaiba had pulled Téa's purple and white striped pajama set out of the dresser and tucked it under his arm as he started to head towards the door.

"How else would you get there? I'm going to go get the car. Don't change out of that thing, they might need it." He stepped into the hallway where Mokuba was standing and told him to go back to bed, that everything was fine.

Téa lifted her head to protest having to wear half a dress to an emergency room, but when she noticed her clothes in Kaiba's arm, she figured there really must be a reason. Still shaky, she slid off the bed and into a pair of flats and followed him out to a giant garage. He climbed into a very luxurious red car and started it up. Téa walked around to the other side of the vehicle and slid in beside him. He pulled out of the garage and sped off to the hospital.

Lucky for both of them, the emergency room was nearly dead. It wasn't long before a couple of nurses walked in. One immediately looked at Kaiba while the other stepped over to Téa and began to gently explain what they needed to do, and why.

"I'm going to ask you to step out to the waiting area. This procedure can be very distressing for someone who has already been traumatized," she told Kaiba quietly, who could find no valid reason to object, though he did not want to leave. He simply set her pajamas on the chair he'd been sitting on and retreated to the lobby.

Shortly after a detective arrived, the nurses began photographing Téa's bruise and cut riddled body, scanned it for fluids, and collected various samples while a detective asked a seemingly endless series of redundant questions. Téa felt invaded all over again, and stifled many tears until the detective thanked her and left, and the nurses informed her that she could change into her pajamas, but they needed to take the dress. She gladly obliged, never wanting to see that rotten piece of fabric again. As soon as she was safely wearing her purple and white striped pajama pants and matching top and the nurses were gone, she allowed the tears to pour down her face.

Kaiba entered the room and watched the shaking girl. He felt his heart crack a tiny bit, but couldn't show it. "Are you ready to go?" She turned around and looked at him with tearful blue eyes.

"I want to go home. To my house," she whispered softly.


	5. I'm So Sick

Like Two Strangers

_"You sink into my clothes; this invasion makes me feel worthless, hopeless, sick."_

-Flyleaf, 'I'm So Sick'

Kaiba looked directly into Téa's eyes, narrowing his own. "Right now?" She blinked, and tears poured out. Kaiba made a step forward, but hesitated before touching her. Téa recognized his pause and completed the contact by gingerly pressing herself into his chest, and he proceeded to wrap his arms around her.

"No, I was thinking tomorrow," Téa lied. She really did want to go home right then, but Kaiba's comfort was addictive. He seemed to pick up on this, and smirked as he led her back to the car, his arm still circling her protectively. Once they returned to the Kaiba mansion, they found Mokuba in the kitchen with a giant plateful of pancakes.

"I made breakfast!" he announced.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "I see this." He turned to Téa. "Go up to bed, breakfast will be brought to you once I make sure my little brother here actually made something edible."

"Hey!" Mokuba protested, and threw a handful of blueberries at Kaiba, who immediately cleaned them up and pushed the kid aside. Téa's eyes widened at Kaiba's kindness, but did as she was told. Bed sounded good...it felt like she hadn't slept in ages. She crawled in and curled up, falling asleep quickly.

"_Don't you dare, you bitch_..." The sickening scent of an inebriated loser stuffed her senses as she struggled and tried to scream, kick, or move at all whatsoever, but she couldn't. She was paralyzed as the guy melted down into her body and invaded her soul.

"Téa! Wake up!" a persistent voice begged, shaking her from her dream. Téa woke with a startled cry, trembling, until she caught sight of Mokuba kneeling on the bed beside her, two plates of pancakes sitting beside him. "It was just a dream," he assured her. She sat up as Mokuba handed her the plate, then sat right beside her with his own plate.

"So you're going to keep me company?" she asked, attempting to regulate her breathing. He nodded, then reached into the nightstand and pulled out a remote. There had been a TV on the wall since she'd been there, but she never knew where the remote was; apparently all she had to do was check all the drawers.

"What do you want to watch?" he asked, handing her the remote. She shoved it back into his hands.

"You choose. I'm open to anything."

Mokuba shrugged and started flipping through channels until they found a marathon of _CSI_. Satisfied, Mokuba leaned back against the pillows and happily devoured his pancakes. Téa smiled inwardly at how easy it was to please him, then ate her own breakfast. The two friends watched the television for a couple hours before Kaiba appeared in the room, just having returned from Kaiba Corp. Téa noticed he looked a little tired; she felt bad, since she'd kept him up the previous night by asking him to come with her to the hospital. But he actually didn't seem to be in too bad of a mood as he walked over and pulled Mokuba into his arms as he stole the spot beside Téa, and held Mokuba in his lap.

The little Kaiba snuggled up in his big brother's arms. "How was work, Seto?"

"The usual," he replied, which Téa guessed meant something to Mokuba, since the kid chuckled lightly. "What are you watching?"

"CSI," Mokuba responded, then proceeded to explain the episode so far. "There are two kids, one's a basketball player and a cheerleader who's his girlfriend, and they went missing. But now the boy's dead and so is this other girl, and they found out the guy gave a bunch of other women STDs...Seto, what are those?"

Téa unintentionally snorted loudly, and her hand flew to her mouth as Kaiba shot her a glare. Still, she had trouble holding in laughter; the glare wasn't quite as strong as it had been in the past, obviously due to Mokuba's question.

"Don't worry about it now, Mokuba, just remember when you're older not to sleep with anyone unless you care about them and really know them," she answered for Kaiba, whose expression softened a bit.

Mokuba paused, then looked up at her quizzically. Before he could say anything else, however, Kaiba picked up the remote and changed the channel to a movie station, where _Taken_ was playing. Mokuba immediately became fascinated with the movie, and Kaiba was very thankful for the short attention spans of children for the first time in his life. Téa sensed this relief and smiled as she settled back into the pillows.

They watched the movie in silence, except for when Mokuba would ask about certain words or events, which Téa was happy to answer. As the credits rolled, Mokuba grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels again.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to watch?" Mokuba asked Téa, who shrugged.

"I got nothing. What about your brother?" she asked, turning to look at Kaiba, who had apparently dozed off at some point. Mokuba didn't even bother to look back as he continuously pressed the button on the remote.

"I told you, he always falls asleep whenever we watch movies or TV," he reminded Téa. Finally, he turned the television off, set the remote down, and leaned back into his brother's chest so he could fully gaze up at Téa. "So how are you really doing?" His voice was soft and full of genuine loving compassion.

Téa couldn't bring herself to answer that question; instead, she shrugged it off and decided to ask one of her own that had plagued her for quite awhile. "Mokuba...don't get me wrong, Kaiba's been nicer to me than I could ever have imagined him being in the past week...but how is it that you're so sweet and compassionate when the only person around you is someone like him?"

Mokuba looked up at her curiously. Sure, his brother iced everybody out and didn't warm up typically until it was just the two of them, but he wasn't a sociopath...

"Seto taught me to be this way," he finally responded quietly, gripping his sleeping big brother's hand. "When our adoptive father started telling him how he had to be...that he shouldn't ever trust anybody, that asking for help is weak, that showing any sort of emotion is bad, and that love is worthless...Seto told me that he was all wrong, and that I needed to ignore everything that came out of Gozaburo's mouth. It's just that he got so used to having to act like a totally different person than who he really was that he got confused. Sometimes I think he still is. But he still tells me to keep being who I am, and to keep loving as much as I do. He can't show it, but I know he does care about people a lot."

Téa paused and watched Kaiba sleep for a moment before looking back at Mokuba. "No, I guess he has showed that in his own way. I'm sorry. That wasn't a fair question."

"Yes, it was," Mokuba replied, understanding. Then he gently broke out of his brother's arms and turned around to face him. "Now watch this." He inched closer so his face was a mere half-inch away from Kaiba's, then announced in a loud, confident voice, "BIG BROTHER!"

Kaiba gasped as he was startled awake and jerked forward, smacking faces with Mokuba, who fell over the side of the bed giggling. He groaned and massaged his nose, then stood up while grumbling at Mokuba, "That's what you get for being obnoxious."

As Téa watch their interactions, she realized how empty she truly felt, and how badly she needed to get out of there. She had no family anymore, and therefore no right to intrude on one. She had finally reached the point where all she needed was some time alone, and away from everybody else. She quickly scrambled off the bed and threw on a sweatshirt. "You know, I should really get going..." She gathered her laptop and several other important belongings, then turned to Kaiba and Mokuba. "Would you mind if I came back for the rest of my stuff later?"

Mokuba cocked his head to the side, confused by the sudden change in her demeanor. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine...I just need to go home and figure things out," Téa assured Mokuba. Kaiba shrugged and turned around, not completely agreeing with the idea, but what could he do?

"Mokuba, call for the limo. I have some more work to do." Mokuba nodded and called as Téa gathered some clothes and stuffed them in her bag. More and more of her stuff had been accumulating throughout the past week, so it certainly was not going to be possible grab everything at once. She turned to Mokuba.

"I'll come back and get the rest of the stuff as soon as possible," she told him, but he smiled and waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, Téa, it's not like we have guests...ever," he joked, and took her hand to lead her out the the limo. "Bye, Téa...see you soon!"

* * *

Days passed by, and they turned into a week, and then two weeks. Mokuba had heard relatively little about Téa and even less from her. Once in awhile he'd text her to check in, and sometimes she'd reply and sometimes she wouldn't. Finally, he had to know. He called the limo for himself late one evening and sneaked out to Téa's house with a sickening feeling in his stomach.

He walked to the door, and turned the knob. It was locked, of course. He knew one trick, and hoped it would work. Mokuba pulled out his wallet and took out his credit card, then carefully inserted it into the crack in the door until it popped the lock. _Yes_! He pushed the door open and quietly crept inside, then looked over into the living room and gasped. Téa was lying unconscious on the couch, a bottle of bourbon on the coffee table next to a bottle of sleeping pills. Mokuba grabbed the bottle of sleeping pills and looked inside. It seemed mostly full, so it didn't seem like she was actually trying to kill herself. He picked up the bottle of alcohol and found it to be empty.

Mokuba could hear her breathing, but couldn't wake her. He pulled out his phone and called an ambulance, then Yugi.

"Hello?" his brother's rival sounded sleepy. Of course, it was after midnight.

"Yugi, it's Mokuba. I-I went to check on Téa, and she took some pills and drank...she drank _a lot_. She's breathing, but I thought I should call you. I called for help-"

"I'll meet you at the hospital!" Yugi declared before hanging up. The ambulance arrived right then, and once Téa was safely being treated in the vehicle, Mokuba locked the door once again and headed out to the limo to go to the hospital. He knew he had to call his brother.

"Seto Kaiba," his brother answered the phone quickly, meaning he'd been working and hadn't even checked the caller ID before answering.

"Seto? Um..." Mokuba's voice broke as he started to cry.

"Mokuba? What the hell? Where are you?" Kaiba demanded, immediately angered. Had someone sneaked into his house and taken his brother? How could he not have heard them? "Mokuba, answer me!"

"I went to check on Téa-I just had a bad feeling, and she hurt herself. She's alive," Mokuba rushed on through his tears, "but I couldn't wake her up. She took some pills and drank a whole bottle of bourbon. I'm going to the hospital. I wanted to let you know..."

Kaiba groaned; not out of frustration of being bothered, but because he sensed something like this coming. "I'm on my way," he told Mokuba before hanging up and heading out.

* * *

At the hospital, Mokuba was told he had to stay in the waiting room. Yugi showed up a few minutes later, still wearing his light blue pajamas spotted with little yellow stars. Mokuba stared at him with a look of worry.

"Thanks for calling," Yugi said gratefully. "I can't believe she'd do something like this..."

Mokuba shook his head. "I'm scared," he said quietly. A few minutes of silence passed before someone else entered the waiting room.

"Nice pajamas, Yugi," Kaiba smirked as he entered. Mokuba looked up at his brother, exasperated. Now was not the time to start stuff with his rival, but at least Yugi was good at ignoring those sorts of remarks. Kaiba looked over at the little one, his expression softening. "Are you okay, Mokuba?"

He nodded, but dropped his head. Téa wasn't. This was going to be a long night.


	6. Shake It Out

Like Two Strangers

"_It's always darkest before the dawn_."

-Florence + The Machine, 'Shake It Out'

A few hours later, Téa slowly woke up with a throbbing headache. She blinked as she sat up and looked around the stark white hospital room. She noticed she was hooked up to an IV; this wasn't all too surprising. After all, she'd drunk quite a bit and fluids would be necessary. What was really frightening, however, was the fact that she remembered so very little. One moment she'd been struggling with the sadness, the next moment struggling with sleep, and then she took several pills and downed the bottle...and here she was.

_But how_...?

Téa's answers appeared in the form of Mokuba, who bolted in the door, closely followed by a pajama-clad Yugi and a slightly tired looking Kaiba. She cringed underneath his intense stare, unwilling to start with him. Mokuba ran over to her and threw his arms around her free arm.

"Téa..." Yugi said from behind him, stepping closer to the hospital bed. Téa gazed at him pleadingly, then laid back into the pillows.

"Please don't sound so disappointed, Yugi, you have no idea what happened," she begged. Kaiba raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Enlighten us, then," he said smoothly, though his harsh gaze remained fixed upon her. Téa managed a sharp look of her own, then returned to staring and the plain white blankets.

"I just had a bad moment," she said quietly. "It was an accident, and I was stupid. I'm sorry."

A sharp knock alerted them to the presence of a physician. All three watched as a man entered the room.

Téa glanced up. "I was just telling them I didn't do this on purpose. So can I go yet?" she asked, crossing her arms and attempting to look fierce. The doctor scanned his clipboard for a moment, then looked back at Téa.

"That depends. If you're going back to being on your own, then I want to put you on a seventy-two hour hold for psychiatric evaluation. But if someone can guarantee your safety, then I have few reservations about discharging you right here and now," he responded, crossing his arms.

"Come back with us," Mokuba piped up, glancing back at Kaiba. "We'll keep an eye on you." Kaiba grunted, though Téa couldn't tell if he was in agreement or in disgust of the situation; however, he didn't argue with Mokuba and that seemed to be good enough for the doctor.

"All right, then," the middle-aged man said dismissively as he approached the bed. "I just need you to sign those spaces marked with an x." He handed Téa the clipboard and she obliged with her signature, then she passed it back. He removed the IV and bandaged the site up.

Téa slowly slipped out of bed and into her shoes, then slipped off the hospital gown to reveal her own clothes underneath. She gave Yugi a tight hug, but when she pulled away, she noticed tears shining in his large violet eyes.

"Oh...Yugi...please don't," she begged, recoiling. He took a deep breath and blinked the tears away, but when he spoke, his voice was wavering.

"Then please don't do anything like this ever again. You're not alone-your friends are here for you."

Kaiba cleared his throat at Téa. "If you're still planning on coming with us, it's now or never." Yugi shot him a quick look then turned to his friend and said goodbye. Téa glared at Kaiba herself, but followed both him and Mokuba out to the car.

* * *

It was going on six in the morning when they reached the mansion once again. Dawn wasn't quite ready to break through the chilly December sky yet, and snow had begun to fall and stick to the ground. Téa followed the two brothers inside, then wandered back to her room and crawled into the big, familiar bed. She curled up into a fetal position and just stared into the slowly-lessening darkness as the sun made its presence known. She could hear Mokuba and Kaiba blabbering to each other in the hallway, and her door slowly opened.

Téa lifted her head slightly to find them entering the room. "What's going on?" she asked, forcing herself to sit up. Mokuba walked around to the other side of the bed and flopped down onto it, and Kaiba threw a oversized plush blanket over the child.

"I'm staying with you," the little Kaiba announced sleepily. "Have to make sure you're okay." He yawned and grabbed Téa's stuffed dolphin pillow, hugging it to his chest as he snuggled into the blanket.

Téa smiled, happy to have the child nearby for company and comfort. His eyelids were already drooping and he was dangerously close to sleep, but at least she wasn't alone anymore. In fact, she couldn't remember for the life of her why she wanted to be alone in the first place anyhow. Kaiba leaned over and gave his little brother a quick squeeze then straightened up again and walked back to the doorway, where he looked back over his shoulder.

"I'm going to my office. Mokuba knows how to get ahold of me if you must," he said, then walked out.

Téa rolled her eyes and laid down again. Mokuba's breathing had already grown soft and steady, and she turned to glance at him. He looked even younger, all bundled in the gigantic blanket. Even the pillow appeared massive when compared to his tiny body. After a little while, he began to twitch as he dreamt, and Téa couldn't help but to smile at the kid's cuteness. She turned over onto her back and stared at the ceiling for a very long time, but sleep just would not come. It was quite frustrating, especially since it wasn't like her little façade the previous evening allowed her any genuine rest.

She rolled over, grabbed her phone, and stood up slowly, attempting to stay as quiet and still as possible so Mokuba wouldn't awaken. He'd been up literally all night and needed his sleep. She threw on a purple hoodie over her tank top and slipped on her black flats, then began to head down the stairs and to the front door. As soon as she'd crossed the threshold, her phone began to ring. It was a number she didn't recognize, so she hit ignore. Not a second later did it go off again. Téa rolled her eyes and hit the answer button.

"Don't you even think about leaving. I'm not going to be held responsible if you do anything else stupid."

Téa groaned. _Kaiba_. As usual, nothing gets past him. He _would_ have cameras in his mansion...wait...

"How much have you been watching me?" she demanded before sauntering back into the house. Kaiba snorted at the other end of the line, and Téa heard the sound of a stapler followed by shuffling.

"Relax. They're only in the common areas and outside." Now she could hear typing, and maybe what sounded like a stifled yawn. "Go back to bed before Mokuba realizes you left. Trust me, you don't want him to tear you a new one." Kaiba was about to hang up when Téa called out for him to hold on.

"When are you coming back?"

"...In a couple hours. I told Mokuba I'd be back after finishing these contracts."

They hung up, and Téa went grudgingly back to the room. She was pleased to see that Mokuba was still dead to the world and hadn't moved an inch. She laid down and somehow managed to fall asleep after just a short while.

* * *

"Wake up."

A stoic voice roused Téa from her sleep what felt like minutes later, even though it was more like two and a half to three hours later. She groaned in tired anguish while uncurling herself from her cozy position, and turned over to find Mokuba sprawled on his back with his arm slung across her and Kaiba looming over the foot of the bed.

"Your lame friend Tristan took it upon himself to invite himself over."

Téa's head shot up, and her heart burned with anger. That _idiot_...he'd completely ditched her when she needed her friends the most, so what did he want now? She leapt out of bed and stormed down the stairs until the brown-haired young man in a leather jacket was visible, standing right in front of the entryway.

"You son of a _bitch_!" Téa growled as soon as she was standing right in front of him. Tristan hesitated before responding; both of them were unaware that Kaiba had slunk to the foot of the stairs and was watching intently, like a cat stalking a butterfly through a glass window.

"I heard what happened...I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Téa laughed, but there was no happiness to the gesture. Kaiba raised an eyebrow. He'd never heard such a cold sound come from the warm, friendly girl.

"You know, that's something you could have asked at my parents' funeral," she snapped, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "Because I needed you then."

Tristan stepped forward, but the girl stepped back. He closed his eyes for a moment then stared straight at the girl. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't deal with seeing you-"

"_Are you kidding me_?" Téa was nearly shrieking at this point. Kaiba cleared his throat, and the other two whirled around.

"She doesn't need this right now, so you're going to have to leave," he said smoothly, approaching them. "And frankly, I don't have time for it either." He firmly grabbed the girl's hand and drew Téa the Ticking Time Bomb away from the catalyst. Téa did not immediately let go of Kaiba's hand, and Tristan noticed this.

"You can't be serious," he spat, staring at Téa, then charged a closed fist at Kaiba. The taller man grabbed it and swiftly shoved him out the front door. Tristan whirled around and lunged at Kaiba again, but to no avail as he simply stepped to the side.

"Get away from here. _Now_. Before I have the cops throw your imposing ass in jail." Kaiba's voice was quiet, but laced with a deadly venom. Tristan picked himself off the ground and growled, but ran off into the night after a moment's glaring contest with the CEO.

Kaiba slipped back inside, where Téa leaned against the wall, obviously fuming. He crossed his arms and watched her for a moment before approaching her. He ran his fingertips gently down her arms, from her shoulders down to her wrists. Téa's eyes widened at the sudden albeit pleasant touch. She allowed Kaiba to take both of her hands into his, but she was the one to intertwine their fingers They locked eyes for a few moments, and Téa felt herself become absolutely grounded.

Then Kaiba broke away, just as suddenly as he'd initiated the contact. "He won't bother you anymore." He disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes, then returned with three pints of ice cream and three spoons. "Let's go wake Mokuba before he decides he doesn't want to sleep tonight." Téa smiled slightly and followed him up to her room.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So after a month of changing some aspects of this story, I _finally_ got around to a chapter 6. Ugh. FINALLY. :)


	7. Superfabulous

Like Two Strangers

"_Stars collide and steal my fate; I'm the one they'll all embrace. I get down on my knees and pray to think of your love someday._"

-BT (featuring my girl Rose McGowan), 'Superfabulous'

Kaiba watched quizzically from his desk as Mokuba lounged on the love seat in his bedroom, emitting heavy sighs every few seconds as he scanned something on his laptop. After the child remained silent for a short while, the elder brother turned his attention back to his own computer. He worked for a few minutes before another despondent sigh provoked him into tearing whatever was on his brother's mind out of him.

"All right, Mokuba, what's on your mind?"

Mokuba shut the laptop and set it to his side, then stood up and walked over to Kaiba. He threw his arms around the elder Kaiba's neck and rested his chin on his shoulder. "I have an idea."

"Should I ask?" Kaiba asked after a slight pause, snaking his arm around the kid's waist in order to pull him around onto his lap so he could make eye contact with the monkey leaning over his back.

"Doesn't matter, I'm telling you anyway," Mokuba said with a grin. "I think we should have a Christmas thing to cheer Téa up some more."

Kaiba paused. The girl seemed to be gradually growing stronger again, and had even started talking about her parents. She had reconciled with Mai about what happened at the club, and the blonde woman had completely broken down. Mai blamed herself for taking her along, but being the sweet girl Téa was, she'd completely put down that belief. She also started reconnecting with Yugi and Joey (thanks to Mokuba's encouragement), though her relationship was a bit strained with the latter due to the altercation between Tristan and Kaiba. Overall, it appeared that her life was slowly coming back together.

But did the kid mean a party? Seto Kaiba didn't do parties. Mokuba knew that better than anybody...

"Define 'thing,'" Kaiba finally muttered grudgingly, burying his face in his hands and massaging his forehead. Mokuba hopped off his brother's lap, grabbed his computer, typed frantically for a few seconds, the shoved his laptop in front of the elder brother. Kaiba looked up at the screen only to discover a dictionary definition of 'thing.'

He shot Mokuba a dark look. "You are incorrigible. I meant that as in, what were you planning?" The little Kaiba grinned once again.

"I figured we could just decorate and spend the day together. Nothing big, I know you've been busy, but I'd like some time with you during the holidays too," Mokuba said, leaning against the desk and playing with a pen.

Kaiba stood up and walked over to his window. "Where is Téa right now, anyhow?"

"She went shopping," Mokuba replied. "She asked if I wanted to go with, but I told her I had work to do. I wanted to talk to you about this, and it's not like there would be a whole lot of other chances."

Kaiba sighed and held out his arms for a hug. He did feel slightly guilty; although the kid tried to make jokes about him working all the time, Kaiba knew that in reality, it made him lonely. He also knew Téa helped with this, but it wasn't the same. Mokuba leaned into it and looked up at his brother pleadingly.

"Please, Seto?"

"Fine," Kaiba finally said, voice as monotonous as ever as he gently pushed the kid back to his computer. "I think Friday should work. I can take it off since that meeting got moved to Thursday." Kaiba turned around and watched in mild amusement as the kid bounded happily down the stairs. He sighed and returned to his work. Might as well be productive while he could...

* * *

Friday rolled around soon enough, and when Téa woke up just before ten that morning, she was surprised to find Mokuba sitting on the bed beside her, eating a bowl of mixed fruit. He had a small but beautifully wrapped gift next to him, which he shoved into her hands with a smile once he realized she was awake.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, yawning. "And what's this?"

"Couple minutes," Mokuba replied in between bites. "It's your present from Seto and me."

"Mokuba! You told me not to get you anything, so why did you get me something?" Téa cried.

The kid rolled his eyes and set the bowl to the side, and Kaiba appeared in the doorway. His hair was slightly messy and he was wearing a pair of black pajamas.

"Now you woke up my brother," Mokuba chided teasingly as Kaiba leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "Anyway, it's not like we don't already have everything we want, so there was really no point in you getting us anything."

"Mokuba, bring your bowl to the kitchen," Kaiba said with a stifled yawn. As Mokuba stood up and scampered out, Kaiba replaced him on the edge of Téa's bed. She leaned back into the pillows and stared at him, amused.

"Since when do you skip work and sleep in during the week?" she asked with a smile.

"Since Mokuba forced me to take the day off," he answered without missing a beat, then glanced at the gift. "Are you planning on opening that this year or the next?"

Téa shot him a glare, but accepted the box as Kaiba passed it to her. She pulled the ribbons off first, then gingerly removed the paper. It was so pretty that she felt like she was defiling it, but what was inside shocked her. There was a credit card and a plane ticket. Téa blinked and stared at him.

"K-Kaiba...?"

"Everyday while we were in the same class, I heard you blabbering about wanting to go to New York City. Now you can," Kaiba told her nonchalantly. "You'd need a way to pay for a hotel, food, and whatever else you wanted, so obviously that's what the credit card is for. Technically the account is in my name, but I requested a card to give you access as well."

"This is too much..." she said softly.

Kaiba snorted and gave her an amused looked. "It's nothing to me." He hesitated a moment while averting his gaze to the floor. "And a little distraction never hurt anything."

Téa understood he was referring to her underlying pain, and while things certainly were improving, it was definitely still there. She reached over and gently took his hand. Kaiba turned his intense eyes on her at the touch, but didn't pull away. Téa took that as a green light and crawled across the bed to throw her arms around his neck. When he still didn't recoil, she planted a gentle kiss on his forehead to show just how much the present meant; Téa was willing to bet the sum of whatever ungodly limit of credit resided on that little card that no woman had kissed him since his mother.

Judging by the completely shocked and confused expression frozen on his face, her suspicions were confirmed.

"A thank you wasn't enough," she said quietly as she slid out of bed and began to head to the hallway, but a strong, sudden grip on her wrist stopped her. A second later she found herself sitting sideways on Kaiba's lap, their eyes locked together until his lips melded into hers for what seemed like forever. When they broke apart, she gave him a tiny smile, but he looked away before gently setting her on the floor ahead of him so he could stand as well.

"We should go find Mokuba," Kaiba told her, almost nervously, but a snort came from the doorway.

"I've been here the whole time!" Mokuba announced proudly, then gave Téa a suggestive look. "I'm glad you liked your present so much."

The other two rolled their eyes but otherwise ignored him, and followed the child down to the lounge, where they found a rather large natural Christmas tree decorated with an abundance of white bulbs, but only three other ornaments. Kaiba disappeared into the kitchen while Mokuba grabbed Téa's hand and pulled her to the tree and gestured at the first decoration: a satiny-smooth dark red dragon with hand-painted black eyes and scales.

"Our mother made this right after Seto was born," Mokuba whispered. "I think this is the real reason why he's so obsessed with dragons." He pointed at the other two ornaments, which were snowflake-shaped picture frames. One contained a photo of a woman with black hair and blue eyes, and the other displayed a man with dark brown hair and bluish-violet eyes.

"Are those your parents?" Téa asked gently. Mokuba nodded and latched on for a hug.

"I don't remember them, but I still love and miss them," he said sadly. Téa gently coaxed Mokuba over to the couch, where she sat down and allowed the child to snuggle up.

"I miss my parents too," she told him while stroking his messy black hair absently. Mokuba blinked, and a few tears glistened down his cheeks. Kaiba entered the room once again, carrying three steaming mugs of hot chocolate. His eyes narrowed when he saw his brother's tears, and he placed one mug in front of each of them, then sat on the other side of Mokuba.

"What's wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on the kid's back. Mokuba sighed and sat up, then picked up his mug.

"We were just saying we miss our parents," Téa answered for him, but to her surprise, Kaiba's expression didn't change in the slightest. Instead, he grunted and sat back, staring out the window. She raised an eyebrow, but Mokuba just shifted over and leaned up against his brother, but shot the girl a look that clearly said, He misses them too. Téa leaned her head against the back of the couch, gazing at the elder brother thoughtfully. It was odd thinking that he was once a child; the epitome of innocence and purity. That there were people that he once looked up to for comfort and love.

The three of them spent the rest of the day together, every minute of it. Téa helped them make dinner-which she thoroughly enjoyed, seeing as Kaiba was simply clueless about cooking. After they finished with that, Mokuba proposed a game of Monopoly; however, the game went on for hours, and Kaiba finally ended it before anyone had really won (although Téa was in the lead).

"Time for bed, Mokuba," he told the kid firmly. Mokuba looked up, clearly sleepy, but protested anyhow.

"C'mon, we're almost finished, Seto!" he pleaded, but to no avail.

"No, we're not. We can finish tomorrow." Kaiba reached over and pulled Mokuba off of his chair and into a hug, then sent him on his way. He followed the kid up the stairs without a second look at Téa.

The girl scowled and hesitated for a few moments before heading to her room. Just that morning, he kissed her, held her, and gave her a gift greater than anything should could have asked for. And now it was like she didn't exist. Téa sighed and went to her own room, changed into a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of fleece pajama bottoms decorated with little cartoon cupcakes. She sat on her bed for a few moments before emitting a heavy sigh and walking across the hall.

Téa paused right outside Kaiba's door and listened, but heard nothing except complete silence. She gently knocked on the door, only for the silence to continue. Her frustration overflowed and she opened the door to find Kaiba sitting in his bed, lying back against his mountains of pillows with a very large book in his hand. And he was watching her.

"So why are you back to hating me?" she blurted out, slightly unnerved by his stare.

Kaiba's eyes widened momentarily, and he set his book aside. "I don't hate you."

"Then why are you ignoring me...after this morning?" Tears started welling up in Téa's eyes, and tried her best to brush them away. It didn't work until Kaiba had gotten out of bed and stood directly in front of her to wipe them away himself.

"I'm not ignoring you. I've just never...dealt with _this_ before." He turned around and crawled back into bed. "Now, can I get back to what I was doing?"

Téa ignored him and walked over to his bed and sat down at his feet. "What are you reading?"

"Nothing like any of that _Twilight_ bullshit you girls seem to like so much," he said with a sneer, though the expression faltered as Téa crawled over his legs to the other side of his bed. "W-What are you doing?"

She shrugged and sat beside him, then rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't feel like being alone tonight."

Kaiba paused and looked down at the brunette attempting to cuddle up with him. He exhaled slowly, then set his book on the nightstand. "Fine. But I'm going to sleep," he grumbled, switching off the light and stretching out on his back. Kaiba felt the girl hesitantly press herself close to him, and he rolled over and pulled her into his arms. They laid there quietly, and he was just about to doze off when Téa spoke up.

"Thank you again for the Christmas gift."

Kaiba grunted and shifted his position. "Just go to sleep."


End file.
